The others continued to stare, unresponsive. It seemed that even Riell, who had been advocating for the hope that Dharen could still be alive, was shocked by his sudden arrival. The only exception was Anand, who just scoffed slightly and turned his head.

Eventually, Held broke the silence. “You’re alive?”

Dharen gestured down at himself, as if demonstrating his existence. “It seems to be so,” he added.

“How did you make it out?” Riell finally blurted out. He could see from the relieved expression on her face that she had been deeply affected by his abandonment; though they were not overly close, it seemed that the woman had felt responsible for his loss due to being the one to activate the teleporter that left him behind. Perhaps that sense of guilt and responsibility was why she so vehemently suggested that he could still be alive, despite the likelihood.

Though he was not disinclined to answer their questions, now was not the time. There was currently something more important to discuss. “That’s not important,” he said. “As I mentioned before, we have something that we need to discuss.”

The others leaned in slightly, intrigued by his urgency. Though they remained curious as to how he was able to return, they set the matter aside for the moment. Though he knew that they would have difficulty breaking free of Duende’s grasp, the potential benefits of gaining allies close to the man was worth the risk; he could only hope that they would procure their own methods of defeating mental influences if he could create enough doubt. Seeing that they were all listening, Dharen began to explain.

“Duende has been controlling us.”

The others looked at him with blank and uncomprehending expressions, as if the very idea was impossible to consider.

“When I was in the jungle and escaping from the Nulzan, I managed to break free of the effect. What’s more, he is cementing his hold. We need to do something about him.”

Riell, face contorted into a deeply confused expression, responded: “Why would he need to control us? We chose to join up willingly.”

The remainder of the group replied to this in the affirmative, though Dharen noticed that Anand’s response was slightly weaker than that of the others.

Frustrated, Dharen tried again. “Please, just find a method or item to clear mental effects and you will see that he has been manipulating us all. He has been manipulating everyone. And I, for one, will not forgive him.” He continued with a harder tone. “In some ways, he is more monster than the Nulzan.”

The others, mulling over his words, looked troubled. Despite this, he could still see the doubt in their eyes. Duende’s grasp was unrelenting.

Having done all that he could to warn them, Dharen stood to take his leave. Before exiting, he requested one thing more. “Do not allow Duende to know that I have returned.”

“I should be able to procure an item that would resist such effects. We will look into things. Shall we meet again tomorrow at noon?” Riell called after him as he walked away.

“That is all I ask,” he said.

Having said his piece and warned the others, Dharen left. He could only hope that he had managed to provoke some manner of suspicion among them. As he walked back through the city, he slowly breathed in the night air, revelling in the taste of freedom. For a moment, he quickly triggered Miasmic Cloak once more. The effect activated, the visual effects of the skill obscured by the darkness. Once again, there was no mention of mental influences. He breathed another sigh of relief.

His eyes hardened. He had some more preparations to make before the night ran its course.

⥫⥬⥫⥬⥫⥬

The next morning, Dharen looked up, startled by a sudden change.

⥫⥬⥫⥬⥫⥬

Contribution Tax Deducted:

Remaining Contribution Points: 3,000

⥫⥬⥫⥬⥫⥬

The daily tax had come at last. Despite the loss of Contribution Points, he smiled. Things were finally looking up. Having stayed awake through the night, Dharen decided to take a brief nap before meeting with the others once more.

Later, he stepped out of the room that he had been staying in, leaving some of the items that he had been readying within. For the moment, he had no need of them.

He traveled once more through the city, passing through the Market as he did so. There was a slight uproar over an excessive string of burglaries that had occurred the previous night, but nothing that affected him unduly. He browsed through the various vendors, but ultimately decided that there was nothing more that he desperately needed at the moment. He had already acquired all that he required.

Having whiled some time away, noon was finally approaching - it was time to meet with the others at last.

He entered the inn, noting that the normally-boisterous atmosphere was far more subdued. Of course, he normally visited during the night. It would be unsurprising if the type of patrons changed depending on the time of day.

Dharen quickly found his companions, noting that Anand had not deigned to meet with him once more. Not exactly surprising. He took his place in the booth, giving an expectant look to the others. Their faces were grim and withdrawn, provoking a small sense of excitement within him.

“So? Did you look into things as I asked?” he questioned.

They nodded. Ethan and Riell looked pained, while Beran and Held were harder to read. They had always been more detached than the others, however. Riell suddenly retrieved an item from her spatial ring. Within her hand lay an amulet, glittering in the light.

“This amulet helps to fortify one’s mind from outside effects. You should have it,” she said. The others nodded grimly.

“Keep it for yourself. I do not need it,” Dharen, having no need of such a bauble, replied.

“Please, I insist. It is meant for you. Wear it for your own protection, at least.” She held the amulet across the table, proffering it once more.

Again, Dharen declined. He smoothly pushed her hand back, suggesting once more that it was not needed. Despite that, she continued to insist that he wear the amulet. The others voiced their own concerns, siding with Riell. He continued to refuse, as he truly had no need for it.

Panic lit in her eyes, and she stood. She walked around the booth, attempting to place it upon his neck herself. Knowing that something had gone wrong, Dharen shot out of his seat. As he jumped away, he felt himself caught slightly - a chilling cold began to creep into his bones. Though it did not harm him, he felt himself slow slightly. As he moved, he saw a layer of frost creep along the nearby surfaces - Beran’s Frozen World.

He turned as quickly as he could while within the slowing effect, just in time to see Beran activate Somnolence. An ice-blue bolt of light flashed into him, disappearing as it made contact. Immediately, an intense exhaustion and lethargy flooded his mind, sending him to his knees and causing him to wish for nothing more than to sleep. As his eyelids sank ever lower, he flashed Miasmic Cloak for a fraction of a moment, hoping that the miniscule activation would be missed.

Fortunately, it was. Thus, rather than dashing away immediately, he took a moment to think while watching through his heavily hooded eyes. The others, believing him to be subdued, were not making a rush towards him. Instead, they were simply talking.

Riell, distraught, spoke first. “Duende was right,” she said. “The Nulzan must have influenced his mind somehow, made him confused. Since they can’t enter the City by activating the teleporters, they tried to attack the City through Dharen.”

The others nodded sadly. “It’s a shame,” Ethan said. “But in the end, it is for his own good. He must be restrained while Duende works to fix him. Still, it was a very devious plan. He must have known that there are no items at this level that are strong enough to clear any and all mental influences; in the worst situation, he could have simply continued to poison our minds and claimed that the items that we used weren’t strong enough, until we did something terrible out of fear.” He sighed, looking troubled.

Dharen could only assume that the others had been influenced by Duende more than he had understood. After failing to clear the mental influences upon themselves, they had likely gone to him with their concerns. And of course, he had taken the opportunity to tighten his grip upon them, as well as to direct them to capture Dharen. It was probably only a small matter to convince them that Dharen needed to be restrained for his own good - likely via an item that could cause a Spirit degeneration effect due to his low Wisdom. He remembered very well how convincing Duende had felt while under his thrall.

He had expected that this might happen, and felt a moment of relief that he had planned accordingly. Still, it was unfortunate that he would have to shift to his secondary plan.

Riell took a step closer, amulet in hand.

Dharen pulled his legs out from under him, jumping backwards sharply to clear some distance. The others looked at him with startled expressions, momentarily stunned by his unexpected alertness. As he broke away, he flicked his fingers and summoned an item from within his Spatial Ring. He swiftly activated it, and the air around him began to shimmer and glow.